


When Flowers Bloom

by admirabletragedy



Series: The Skybridger Assortment [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Ezra and Luke are soulmates, M/M, Sabine is a good sister, So is Leia, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-07
Updated: 2020-06-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:20:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24584467
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/admirabletragedy/pseuds/admirabletragedy
Summary: Ezra was five when he’d woken up and found a small golden flower on his knee. His mother, upon seeing the mark when he’d rushed through, had knelt at his level and grasped his hands. “It means you have a soulmate,” she had said, a wide grin on her face, “It’s a blessing Ezra, one few people have.”
Relationships: Ezra Bridger/Luke Skywalker
Series: The Skybridger Assortment [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1963453
Comments: 15
Kudos: 140





	When Flowers Bloom

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Toomanyfandoms99](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Toomanyfandoms99/gifts), [AlwaysandAlso](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlwaysandAlso/gifts).



> • Some art to go with this story:  
> https://admirabletragedy.tumblr.com/post/623279065988775937/when-flowers-bloom-admirabletragedy-star-wars

Ezra was five when he’d woken up and found a small golden flower on his knee. His mother, upon seeing the mark when he’d rushed through, had knelt at his level and grasped his hands. “It means you have a soulmate,” she had said, a wide grin on her face, “It’s a blessing Ezra, one few people have.”

He’d spent the day asking his mother about it, with eyes wide in awe. It had been while he was helping her dry off the washed dishes that she’d explained that if a person who had a soulmate bond got injured, their scar would appear on their soulmate in the form of flowers.

When he’d frowned, his mother placed a gentle hand on his head, assuring him that his soulmate was okay; as long as the flower on his knee remained with color, his soulmate would be alright. She’d laughed then, as she’d told Ezra his soulmate must have the same clumsiness as he did if the placement and small size of the scar was any indication.

* * *

Two years later, sitting on a rooftop, eyes flashing with the red bolts he’d run from, Ezra held his hand tightly against his ankle, and wondered what his soulmate would think when they’d see flowers appear on their skin.

He found himself closing his eyes against the cold rain, praying that his soulmate would never have to lose their parents to the Empire like he had.

Ezra stayed there until the sky lit up with the rising sun and the twin moons- under which he’d fled from the troopers that night- disappeared behind Lothal’s green fields. It wasn’t until he began to hear people fill the marketplace below that Ezra finally climbed down from the roof, wiping his hands against his pants. He spared the red fabric around his ankle a glance before beginning his walk to the old communication tower his parents had instructed him to stay at.

A week later, had be been looking, Ezra would have noticed that the once large cut on his ankle had turned into a scar, pale in comparison to his copper skin; then again, Ezra had more important things to notice now that he was on his own.

* * *

Despite what he may have said when he’d first boarded the Ghost, Ezra was incredibly grateful to be given the opportunity to join the crew. Although he was at first wary that they only kept him on board for his usefulness during missions, Kanan had long since eased his worries, after they’d had a long conversation following Ezra’s test at the Lothal Temple.

With so many new experiences and friendships taking up his time, Ezra found himself continuously forgetting to tell the crew of his soulmate bond. It wasn’t that he _didn’t want to_ , the time had just yet to come up.

Ezra had been sitting in the cockpit with the others- relaxing after a successful relief mission- when he’d heard Sabine’s gasp. Startled, he’d turned to face her quickly, only to find her staring intently at his knee. _Oh_ , he’d rolled his pants over his knees during the earlier mission- Lothal’s summer months were stiflingly hot- and had forgotten about the flower on his knee, unknowingly putting the colorful mark on full display as he sat on his feet.

It wasn’t long before the others found the cause of Sabine’s surprise, all of them looking towards Ezra, who stared at the hands in his lap, pointedly avoiding their gazes.

“You never told us you had a soulmate!” Sabine remarked, and Ezra looked towards her, surprised by the hurt in her tone.

“I- Well, I don’t know who they are.”

“It’s still important.” She’d stood up quickly after that, pausing at the door to mutter a half-hearted excuse for her departure.

Ezra’s eyes flicked towards Zeb, who shifted his weight before meeting Ezra’s eyes, “Good for you, kid.”

Ezra’s eyes widened before he sent a jerky nod to the Lasat, who in turn stated he was going to check on Sabine.

At the sound of the closing door, Ezra turned to Hera, hurt filling his voice as he asked why Sabine had run away.

Hera shared a look with Kanan before responding, “It’s very rare to have a soulmate, Ezra,” before he could bite out that _he knew that_ , she continued, “Sabine- well, she hasn’t had a good experience with marks.”

“My mom told me it meant my soulmate got hurt,” he wasn’t sure why he said that and instead of looking to see his mentors’ reactions, he found himself tracing the scar on his ankle, having shifted to bring his knees to his chest, resting his chin on the golden flower.

Kanan moved his hand to Ezra’s shoulder, “The Jedi were encouraged to hide marks if they appeared, but I never understood _why_. My Master told me that if she had been given such a beautiful gift, she’d never want to keep it hidden away from the world.” Ezra felt his eyes sting at his Master’s words, but listened with rapt attention, knowing how rare it was for Kanan to talk about Master Billaba. “A soulmark is nothing to fear Ezra, it’s something to be proud of, kiddo.”

* * *

Days later, when Ezra was walking to his room, Sabine called out at him from her quarters. Surprised that she was addressing him after days of silence, he walked to her door, rapping on it lightly. It wasn't long before Ezra found himself face to face with the unarmored Mandalorian.

She stepped back to her bed as Ezra walked in, looking around the small room, gaze lingering on the drawings that stood out against the otherwise blank walls.

“My parents are soulmates.” Ezra turned quickly at the sound of her voice and observed her sitting at the edge of her bed, looking down at her twisting hands.

Ezra sat down in the space next to her, relaxing when she didn’t grow angry. “I’ve never met anyone else with it,” he murmured, unconsciously tracing the flower he knew was underneath his loose pants.

“They aren’t together anymore,” she turned her gaze to Ezra, “I’m sorry I left like that, I _just_ \- you’re my friend. I don’t want to see the same thing happen to you.”

Ezra nudged her shoulder with his own, touched by her sincerity. In a moment of returned emotional honesty, his smile fell as he told Sabine he feared he would never find his soulmate.

Sabine shook her head, leaning against Ezra, “You will. I may not have the same Jedi _powers_ as you and Kanan but I know you’ll find them.” She laughed as she continued, “Surely one of these days you’ll find _her_ falling into your arms.”

Ezra looked away quickly, biting his lip, “ _him_.”

“Huh?”

Ezra met her eyes hesitantly, “ _Him_. It’d be him.”

A smile grew on Sabine’s face, “Thank the gods, I thought I’d forever be the token gay on board.”

Ezra laughed, resting his head on her shoulder, “And then there were two.”

* * *

Ezra would gain three more scars in the following months; one on his elbow that he’d have after a nasty fall- _at least now he knew it was okay to ask for help_ \- one on his calf from when he’d overestimated his Force-jump abilities, and a long white scar running along the length of his forearm, where he’d been cut by a piece of metal sticking out from the side of a vent he’d been crawling through.

He wasn’t the only clumsy one though, Ezra now sported a new set of colorful flowers on his arm.

Sitting down with the crew, he was able to identify them. His oldest mark was a sunflower, which he’d learned pointed towards the rising sun. The most recent strand of purple flowers, which he’d found on his left arm, on the side of his bicep, he discovered to be gladiolus flowers. Like _gladiators_ , Sabine had said.

* * *

Ezra was sixteen the next time he’d find more flowers. _Well_ , it was Kanan who had pointed out the flowers.

It had only been a few days since the two had escaped Malachor- Kanan had still been wearing a tight bandage over the side of his head, where Maul had managed to cut off the top part of his ear- when Kanan startled next to Ezra.

He placed a hand on Ezra’s jaw, moving his head to the side. Ezra blinked in confusion but knew better than to distract his Master when he was focused on something.

It was at Rex’s gasp, from where he’d been sitting across from them at the table, that Ezra could no longer stay silent, “What?”

Kanan looked at Ezra intently, creating an uncomfortable silence before responding, “Go look in the mirror.”

He did, his footsteps echoing down the hall, as anxiety gripped his heart. Ezra closed his eyes before entering the fresher. It was only when he turned to face the mirror that he opened them again, letting out a gasp at what he saw.

Ezra found himself moving his hands to cover his mouth at the sight of the flowers donning his skin. Dropping his hands to the side of the sink, Ezra leaned forward, tilting his head to the side and tracing the flowers on his face with wide eyes. Multicolored flowers- _pink, purple, red, and yellow_ \- had appeared in a row under his right eye, lower still, another line of the small flowers followed his cheekbone.

Ezra let out a breath he hadn’t known he’d been holding and moved his hand to his face, tracing the flowers with shaking fingers. Breath stuttering, Ezra let out a watery laugh, figures he’d have one side of his face covered in thick burn scars, and the other in patches of flowers. Ezra turned on his heel, no longer wanting to see his reflection, and walked to his room, not even stopping when he heard Hera ask him what was wrong. It wasn’t until he lay curled up on his cot, facing away from the door, that he finally let himself cry. Distantly, he wondered _if his soulmate was crying too_.

* * *

_Pansies_ , Sabine would later tell him, the same kind that would grow on Mandalore, even during the winter season.

Despite having insecurities that stemmed from the bright marks on his face, Ezra refused to hide the flowers on his face; _it’s not like his soulmate could hide his scars._

* * *

A year later, Ezra found himself absently moving his hand to the marks on his cheek, a habit that comforted him when he was stressed.

Kanan leaned against Ezra as Mon continued to speak; they had finally- and successfully- carried out their mission to liberate Lothal, and currently sat with the people they’d fought beside mere hours ago.

Suddenly, a loud beeping cut through Mon’s speech, and Ezra looked up quickly, his hand falling to his saber. Kanan dropped a hand on his arm, the way he always did when he wanted Ezra to relax.

Mon apologized through the monitor, before disappearing, declaring that the incoming call was urgent.

The others looked around, not knowing whether to stay or leave but Ezra suddenly found his attention captured by the red and white coloring that was sticking out of his jacket.

“What?” He murmured, eyebrows drawing together as he pulled up his sleeve.

A ring of daisies and bright red carnations had appeared above his wrist, wrapping around his right hand completely. These were the first flowers he had recognized on his own, as he used to pick them with his mother, who would sell them at the market.

Ezra elbowed Kanan, who grunted before noticing what had captured Ezra’s attention. His Master grabbed his hand, looking at the flowers circling his wrist. On his other side, Sabine placed a hand on his shoulder, leaning forward to see the mark as well.

“Woah!” She exclaimed, and Ezra nodded in agreement. “Ezra, that looks like it was cut off by a-”

“Lightsaber.” Kanan finished, meeting Ezra’s eyes, “It’s too clean to be anything else."

_Woah_ indeed.

* * *

A few months later, the Ghost crew reunited with Princess Leia Organa- they had arrived back to the Yavin base a few weeks prior- who greeted them happily.

Turning to Ezra however, Leia’s smile dropped as she gasped.

Ezra startled, looking over to Kanan, who shrugged.

“Holy kriff!” Ezra raised his eyebrows in surprise at the curse before Leia grabbed his arm and started leading him across the base.

She had a wide smile on her face as she walked, and before Ezra had the chance to ask what was going on, she had stopped them in front of a inconspicuous white door, which she proceeded to knock on rather loudly, nearly shaking with excitement.

Only a few moments later, the door opened, revealing a tall man with blond hair. He was wearing a thin shirt and gray joggers, and had his hands covering his face, rubbing at his eyes. _He’d probably just woken up._

Ezra still wasn’t sure why Leia had led him here, until the man dropped his hands to the side, revealing scars, as well as two rows of small white flowers under his tired eyes.

Immediately, Ezra felt his heart drop to his feet. This was _him_.

_This was his soulmate._

Before he could say anything, Leia placed a hand on his back, “Ezra Bridger, meet _Luke Skywalker_.”

Luke’s shock mirrored his own and Ezra found him panicking because _what should he say_?

It’s not like there was a _handbook_ on how to talk to your soulmate.

Ezra barely had time to spot the smirk on Leia’s face, thinking _oh no_ , before he was pushed into the room, where Luke caught him- briefly glaring at Leia as the door closed- before meeting Ezra’s eyes.

Luke smiled, and Ezra relaxed in his arms, which had moved to wrap around him.

* * *

It had been a year since Ezra had met Luke; he lay next to him in their bed now, propped up on one elbow and reaching to move a strand of Luke’s golden hair behind his ear, from where it had fallen over his eyes sometime during the night.

Luke lips quirked upwards as he stirred, dimples appearing on freckled cheeks, and Ezra sighed, moving so he lay on Luke’s pillow.

Ezra’s eyes closed as Luke draped an arm over his bare side, pulling him in closer. Placing his head on Luke’s chest, Ezra felt the blond sigh before softly kissing the top of his head.

Ezra lightly traced Luke’s side with his fingertips, smiling as he felt the goosebumps that trailed after his touch.

The bandage on Luke’s calf brushed against Ezra’s foot as he tangled their legs, Ezra payed it no mind, curling around Luke like a satisfied Lothcat.

Feeling himself lulled back to sleep by the sound of his soulmate’s heartbeat, Ezra found himself wondering what flowers would show up on his calf in response to the blaster that had grazed Luke’s leg the day before.

Luke’s arm wrapped tighter around his waist as though reminding Ezra to clear his mind; Ezra complied, after all he’d find out the answer to his question soon enough, and _for the first time_ , it would be with his soulmate by his side.

**Author's Note:**

> Luke’s Scars:  
> • a small one on knee, from when he was young  
> • left bicep, where he was injured crash-landing his x-wing  
> • on the left side of face, under eye and on his cheekbone; he got both injuries on Hoth  
> • on his right wrist, where he lost his hand  
> • on his right calf, a result of a blaster graze
> 
> Ezra’s Scars:  
> • on his left ankle, an old injury from when he was running away from the imperials that took his parents  
> • on his elbow, where he fell  
> • on his calf, when he misjudged the distance of a jump  
> • on his left forearm, where he got cut by a piece of metal sticking out of a vent  
> • twin saber burns on left cheek
> 
> Luke Flowers:  
> • twin strands of thyme flowers on left cheek  
> \- the word ‘thyme’ is derived from the Greek word thymus, which means ‘courage.’  
> • peony on his left elbow  
> \- white peonies represent regret and shame  
> • purple hyacinth on calf  
> \- purple hyacinth flowers represent rashness and apology  
> • larkspur flower on left forearm  
> \- larkspur flowers represent levity and denote happiness  
> • black dahlia flower on ankle  
> \- black dahlia flowers represent betrayal and death
> 
> Ezra Flowers:  
> • pansies, on his left cheekbone and under his right eye  
> \- pansies can grow in the snow, which there was plenty of on hoth  
> • small sunflower on knee  
> \- sunflowers face toward the sunrise, which was presumably when luke was injured, under tatooine’s twin suns  
> • carnations and daisies wrapping around his entire right wrist  
> \- carnations can represent death and daisies represent innocence; i often see the scene in which luke duels vader on cloud city as luke losing his innocent view of life  
> • gladiolus flower on left bicep  
> \- gladiolus flowers represent courage  
> • aster flower on side of right calf  
> \- aster flowers represent faith and patience


End file.
